Weekly Math Updates

October 20, 2007

Contents:

October 2007 Education Subcommittee meeting

State Superintendents Reiterates Ban on Investigations Math as a Primary Curriculum

I've listened to most of the audio from last Wednesday's subcommittee meeting. If you'd like to go listen to the entire session (about 2 hours), you can go to the below link and you will need the Real Audio player (which I hate for all the things you have to opt-out of just to install it). In the next couple weeks I'll have the text for you of the bill they are revising to bring back for passage next month. This bill will open the standards back up to a legislative task force to make them world class. Thanks to those of you that have helped make this a reality. The bill will pass out of committee next month and go to the full legislature for passage when they're in session early next year.

I have taped off a portion of the audio in mp3 format which you can download by clicking here . The portion is State Superintendent Patti Harrington's statements in the public comments segment responding to this bill to set up a legislative task force to oversee math, science, and technology issues in Utah. This audio is about 33 minutes and there are two segments you should really hear to appreciate this if you can't listen to all of it.

At the 16:43 mark, Representative Greg Hughes gives a great monolog against Investigations math and the plight of parents that are helpless against the system.

At the 27:15 mark you can hear State Superintendent Patti Harrington say INVESTIGATIONS MATH IS NOT APPROVED FOR USE AS A PRIMARY CURRICULUM IN UTAH. PERIOD. END OF STORY.

If you are in one of the few schools in ASD using Investigations math as a primary curriculum, or have a teacher doing so (because of ASD's in-service offer the week before school started) please get this audio to them. Investigations math may not be used as a primary program in Utah.